2012

Furthering protected areas importance to IUCN and its future conservation efforts, protected areas are the most featured theme in the recently released 2012 World Conservation Congress resolutions and recommendations. Protected areas garnered 18 percent of the 183 resolutions and recommendations, with major initiatives of the Global Protected Areas Programme (GPAP) and WCPA all receiving notice. As GPAP begins implementation of its most recent work programme, its five main umbrella themes – protected areas conserving nature, achieving quality, respecting people, developing capacity and offering solutions – are all represented in the resolutions and recommendations. …

“The impacts are what matter for climate change - flooding of deltas, drought, heat in the city, not the fact that the temperature rises. When biodiversity is concerned, it is a fairly unexplored topic," thinks Lucien Chabason from the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), one of the experts quoted in the recent media article on the IPBES establishment. …

Ever seen a flying Hirola? The tall distinctive Hirola (Beatragus hunteri) is the world’s most endangered antelope and is the only existing member of its genus. It is also, quite possibly, the only one to have flown by helicopter.
…

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature - IUCN today signed a four-year Framework Agreement to support IUCN’s newly-adopted Programme 2013-2016. …

Gland, Switzerland, 27 November 2012 – A new study finds that close to half a million python skins are reported as exported annually from South-East Asia. The main importer is the European fashion and leather industry. The study raises concerns over the illegality in parts of the trade, animal welfare issues and the trade’s impact on the conservation of python populations. …